Spotlight
by AllieLongbottom
Summary: Jimmy goes to see the school play for extra credit in English class. He didn't expect to get into the performance this much...J/C. A little gift for my theatre buddy Katia! Read and Review!


It was opening night.

And her mother wasn't coming.

She said it was because of work, but Cindy knew better. It was because Cindy didn't have the lead role. That was the price of her mother's attendance these days. Cindy had to be the best, or she wouldn't be there to support her. Cindy felt her stomach churn as she thought about her graduation later that year. With butt-face Neutron there, she'd never get valedictorian. Would her mother even come?

Now was not the time to think about that. She'd worry about it later.

She still had to do her best. Maybe, her mother would decide to show up. If she did well enough, perhaps she'd get acknowledgment of some worth.

..^^^..

Jimmy shuffled into a seat in the fifth row. He had begrudgingly come out tonight for AP Literature extra credit. The show was Hamlet, something they had read in class. He flipped through the program to find who was in it. Hamlet was Nick. Of course. And Ophelia…Betty Quinlan. Probably the reason the audience was so packed with teenage boys. And, if Jimmy was being honest with himself, it made him happier he came out to see the show.

He scanned the rest of the cast list. He was somewhat disgruntled to see the role of the Queen being played by none other than Cindy Vortex. He supposed she'd play a good evil queen, though. You would think, after all they'd been through together, the fighting and mockery would have stopped. But no.

The lights dimmed and the chatter in the audience died down. The play began, as good as any other high school attempting Shakespeare. Nick was fairly good, he had to admit. He was surprised to find however, as the play progressed, that _Cindy Vortex_ was stealing the show.

He began to study her from the spectator's point of view. She was so…talented. He believed every word she uttered; he was convinced by every facial expression she made. He didn't see the annoying blond girl anymore, but rather the simultaneously beautiful and terrible queen. As Betty came on, he was unimpressed with how incredibly vapid her performance was by comparison. This talent that Cindy had gave her a new level of beauty that Jimmy had never seen; it was a layer of beauty that Betty could never achieve.

Jimmy found himself thinking more about Cindy, and the other layers of beauty she had. Her intelligence, her athleticism, her determination, her passion. Seeing her onstage brought her into a new light. A spotlight in Jimmy's mind for the most deeply beautiful girl he had ever seen.

The play ended and Jimmy applauded a little more enthusiastically than he had intended. He exited the theatre with the throng of audience members into the school lobby where the cast waited in costume, ready to greet friends and family.

Jimmy had planned to leave quickly as he wasn't particularly close with any of the cast members. However, he found himself scanning the crowd for Cindy. He couldn't find her for several minutes, but then he spotted her. She was apart from the crowd, standing in the corner and looking down, no friends or family around her. As Jimmy stared at her, she looked up and they locked eyes for a moment. Jimmy did all he could muster, and smiled at her. She gave a small smirk back, and then Jimmy left.

..^^^..

Cindy changed out of her costume and left the school, not bothering to attend the little cast party at the Candy Bar. As she walked home, she refused to let any tears escape. Her mother hadn't been there. But there were still a few more shows, perhaps she would come to one yet.

Cindy ascended the stairs to her house and was startled to find a bouquet of flowers on the doormat. She picked them up gingerly, still unsure if they were real. She took in their heavenly smell and felt herself calm a bit. She noticed a small card attached to the bouquet. She opened it slowly.

_To Cindy_

_ You were the best there._

No signature. For a moment, she thought it might be her mother, but why would they be on her front porch then? Who else was at the play that she knew? She turned around and glanced at the house across the street. There was a light on in the upstairs window.

Could it have been Nerdtron? It seemed almost as unlikely as her mother.

She looked more closely at his window. He was there, looking back out at her. He smiled again and added a wave. Cindy smiled back genuinely this time and slowly raised her hand to return the wave.

Sometimes, he wasn't so bad.


End file.
